Bumblebee P.O.V

Pain.

That's all I can feel.

Since I was forcefully extracted from my hiding place back in Russia, where a now deceased Bulkhead once fought the mighty Breakdown so many years ago, the Decepticons have taken over earth and compromised our base.

No, our home.

When all of us Autobots, and our human friends too, had to evacuate to stay alive, the cons open fired on our home and obliterated it. All of our memories that took us 5 years to make, gone within 5 seconds. The same fate met one of our team as well.

Optimus Prime. A mighty leader to most, a father figure to me. The Decepticons took his kind and loving spark away from his body, away from the team, away from me.

I was devastated when I learned the news. None of the Autobots could regroup and launch a counter attack. The garage where me and Raf lived for 84 years had a TV where the Decepticons had broadcasted their conquest. Raf and I couldn't do anything to stop them. We lived in hiding for what seemed like a million years. I was reduced to consuming one energon crystal a day, and Raf to one slice of bread and a glass of water to preserve and save our very limited resources.

But so it happened after 84 years, Raf passed on to the next life.

He looked so frail and weak in his soon to be death bed. Raf still ate his portion every day of bread and water, but I knew in my spark that it wasn't going to be enough to sustain him. He lasted a while though, Raf was a fighter. He would often try to get up and walk around; he would fall every time.

I could only imagine what he must've been thinking when I told him to lay back down. He must've been so angry and frustrated with me, not being able to walk. I often told him stories in order to keep him in bed and possibly entertain him to provide some love and companionship.

It was never enough.

I'm not sure if Jack or Miko passed on, but since Raf was the youngest child out of the three, I assume that they're no longer with us as well. But I am sure that in the middle of an abandoned children's playground near our hiding place in Russia, an ordinary stone lies at the head of Raf's grave marked,

'Here lies Rafael Esquivel.

November 29, 1998 - August 17, 2094

A brilliant mind.'

I had more to write. I could write pages upon pages of how Raf was marvelous person and what he'd accomplished in his life. But he was a brilliant mind overall.

After Raf died, I refused to believe that I was on my own. I felt a comforting presence whenever I visited Raf's grave and, really, in my hectic day-to-day life. It was Raf. He was watching over me and protecting me from the true horrors of this intergalactic war. Not many humans survived.

I swore to fly under the radar, only until reinforcements arrived. Now I see why everybody back at base called me optimistic.

Although I suppose me "flying under the radar" plan didn't work out the way I'd hoped, because one day, I was scouting for the energon signal that Bulkhead and Breakdown fought over about a century ago when a seeker patrol spotted me, captured me and dumped me into their darkest, dampest prison cell, heading for an unknown destination.

I was scared. No, I was distraught. I was low on energon and tired. I tried sleeping, but the cons weren't famous for their accommodations. Worse yet, I kept hearing the moaning of pain in the cell beside mine. The moaning sounded familiar, like I'd heard it before. I tried speaking to the 'thing' through the wall, but the only sound that it would make was a gasp and occasionally a scream. I named the unknown cybertronian "Casper," after a human movie Raf had shown me. Casper was a friendly ghost, much like Raf himself.

Reaching our unknown destination took 2 days. From my capture 'till then, I hadn't been fed anything. Not that I was complaining. I was used to being starved and cold.

I felt the ship lurch in a halt position. I connected the dots and figured out that we were here. I had the most butterflies in my stomach that I'd ever experienced. I heard the scratching sound of a key being turned in a lock. I spun around to face the door, but as soon as I saw those piercing red eyes, I wish I hadn't.

Megatron entered my cell with a calm pace.

"I think that we are going to have some fun, scout. Trust me, it will be enjoyable...for me!"

Megatron stood behind me and tied a blindfold over my optics, making me essentially blind. I screamed out of fear, but he chuckled maniacally. I shouted out every curse word I knew. English, Cybertronian and otherwise. Nothing seemed to even deter him.

Relying solely on sound, I heard the Cybertronian "Casper" being dragged out of their cell. They too were screaming. The scream sounded hoarse and forced, and Casper sounded sick and tired. I wished I could help Casper. I couldn't even tell if Casper was a boy or a girl. The scream was too distorted.

Twisting and turning through different corridors and passing many guards, Megatron said, "We're here," and threw me to the ground.

The rain that fell on my metal skin felt colder than it was, due to the fact that my cell was damp, hot, and sticky. Rocks and mud coated my lower legs and parts of my arms. But what really surprised me, was the fact that I felt familiar asphalt below my hands and knees. No, I couldn't be back here…

My observations were rudely interrupted by a raspy chuckle, one that I knew all too well, unfortunately.

Starscream.

"Wake up, scout!" he demanded, ripping my blindfold off. I recognized immediately where I was. I was facing the destroyed rock that used to be my base, my home.

A vehicon dumped Casper beside me and ripped their blindfold off. I was afraid to look at them, having heard their moans and fearing what was in store for me. But I forced myself to open my eyes and turn my head.

They looked worse than I could imagine.

Casper was a she, I instantly recognised. Caspette? The bot was mainly black, but the paint very closely resembled mud. Wait, it was mud; I could see some cobalt blue paint underneath the slimy layer. The unknown bot had one small winglet and the remnants of another one that looked like it had been forcefully ripped off. Since I had wings, I could only imagine the pain she must be feeling having her wing ripped off. She was small, for a cybertronian, but she seemed muscular, or at least she was before. I swear to Primus, she looked familiar. Her eyes were closed tightly.

Starscream noticed me trying to observe the bot, because he kicked her with his pede. "Show yourself, Autobot." The femme just moaned.

"Open your eyes," Starscream demanded, "Don't you want to see who we captured?" She moaned again, this time, louder.

"Autobot!" Starscream lost it, grabbed the femme's throat, and kneeled down in front of her. She screamed. Her scream was dry and hollow, but piercingly intense. Starscream forcefully turned her head in my direction, possibly snapping a piston in her neck. "Won't you open your optics for us dearest? Bumblebee would like to see them."

The femme's optics snapped open at the use of my name, like she knew me too. I analyzed her optics. She had electric blue optics with a ring of purple-like pink around her white 'pupils.'

I knew those optics anywhere.

"Arcee?"

XXX

Decided to split this one-shot into two chapters cause I have to go somewhere. Rate and Review please!